Missing persons could be just next door

By Monica Caison, Special to CNN

Updated 1740 GMT (0040 HKT) May 12, 2013

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Amanda Berry speaks in a video released on YouTube on Monday, July 8, thanking people for support and privacy. Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped from a Cleveland home on May 6, 2013, after being held captive for nearly a decade.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Amanda Berry vanished a few blocks from her Cleveland home on April 21, 2003. She was 16.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Gina DeJesus speaks in the YouTube video.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Georgina "Gina" DeJesus was last seen in Cleveland on April 2, 2004, on her way home from school. She was 14 when she went missing.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Michelle Knight speaks in the YouTube video.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Knight was last seen on August 22, 2002, when she was 21.

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Photos: Kidnapped teens found decade later – In a handwritten note, Knight thanked Cleveland police for their efforts, saying she was overwhelmed with the support she had received from "complete strangers." The note was posted Wednesday, July 31, on the police's Second District Community Relations Committee Facebook page.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Residents gather outside a community meeting at Immanuel Lutheran Church on Thursday, May 9, to talk about the kidnapping case in Cleveland. Balloons were released as part of the ceremony.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – FBI agents and other law enforcement officers stand outside suspect Ariel Castro's home in Cleveland on May 9. Castro, a former school bus driver, has been accused of holding three women captive for a decade in his house. He has also been charged with rape.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Castro hangs his head low while talking with his public defender, Kathleen DeMetz, during his arraignment on May 9.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Ada Colon prays during a vigil held in honor of the kidnapping victims in Cleveland on Wednesday, May 8.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Relatives of kidnapping victim Georgina "Gina" DeJesus hug after she returned to her parents' home in Cleveland on May 8.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Friends and neighbors cheer as a car carrying Amanda Berry arrives at her sister's house in Cleveland on May 8.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Gina DeJesus gives a thumbs up as she arrives at her family's house in Cleveland on May 8.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Ariel Castro was charged on May 8 with kidnapping the three women.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – The family house of Gina DeJesus has been decorated by well-wishers on Tuesday, May 7.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Friends and relatives gather in front of the family house of DeJesus on May 7.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Well-wishers visit the home of the sister of Amanda Berry on Monday, May 6.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Investigators remove evidence from the house on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland where the three women were held.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – An FBI forensics team meets outside the house where three women were held as they investigate the property.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – An FBI forensics team member removes evidence from the house.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – A relative of DeJesus brings balloons to the home of Amanda Berry's sister in Cleveland on May 7.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Children hold a sign and balloons in the yard of Gina DeJesus' family home in Cleveland on May 7.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Bystanders and media gather on May 7 along Seymour Avenue in Cleveland near the house where the three women were held captive.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – A bystander shows the front page of The Plain Dealer newspaper to a friend outside of the house on Seymour Avenue on May 7.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Cleveland Deputy Chief of Police Ed Tomba, center, speaks at a news conference to address details of the developments.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – The house where the three women were held captive in Cleveland was the home of Ariel Castro, who was arrested and is being held pending charges in the case.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – FBI agents remove evidence from the house May 7.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – A police officer stands in front of the broken front door of the house on May 7, where the kidnapped women escaped.

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Kidnapped teens found decade later – Neighbor Charles Ramsey talks to media as people congratulate him on helping the kidnapped women escape on Monday, May 6. He helped knock down the door after he heard screaming inside.

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Story highlights

Monica Caison: Three Cleveland women's escape aided by a neighbor is uplifting

Caison: Many missing persons who have been missing for a long time are not found

She says the old "knock and tell" method can make the difference in finding someone

Caison: Communities can do more to assist law enforcement in investigations

Their fortuitous escape is like a ray of light and reminds us that sometimes good things do happen. A cry for help came out from the walls of silence, and a member of the community responded, aiding in the rescue. The selfless act of a total stranger only reinforces that the public will help when needed.

But their story is unusual. Many missing persons who have been missing for a long time are still not found. We should urge all communities to play an integral part in assisting law enforcement in investigations about missing persons.

Monica Caison

We live in a world filled with powerful technology that has enabled us to communicate faster and better, yet we seem to lack the simple face-to-face meeting that must take place when searching for clues and information in any type of investigation.

The old "knock and tell" method remains an effective tool today. It must be used when searching for our missing persons. When you talk to someone in person, you can read them better by registering their expressions, gestures and other factors. Sometimes, those things could yield clues. This door-to-door technique can make the difference in finding someone in hours, days or years.

There's no doubt that trying to find missing persons requires a tremendous amount of work. Classifying cases as "runaways" or "walk-aways" does nothing to help the outcome of any given case. If anything, it could hinder and slow the process. The general public normally will not have a heightened sense of concern for those believed to have left on their own.

The sense of urgency and hitting the ground running from the start could be the difference in many missing person cases. A case can be misdiagnosed upon closing; this is when we confirm that the labeling provided a wrong direction. The word "missing" should be enough and important; the alert(s) system in place such as the Amber/silver provide an additional emergency notification seeking the public's help.

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Who is Ariel Castro?

The myth of "a waiting period" to report a missing person still lingers, and many families are turned away by officials and forced to begin their journey on their own without any direction or support. Due to heavy caseloads, law enforcement officials are frequently not afforded the continuous training and education that could help them in the search for a missing person.

All too often, information is not provided to victims suffering a missing loved one in the onset, such as where to file the report and what agencies can provide support services and help with advocacy and on-the-ground services. These are all key issues that need to be addressed as we move forward to bring home those missing in our country.

Cold cases and unidentified persons need to be revisited and reopened. All cold cases need to be updated and looked at again with a keen eye on what can be done to aid in a recovery.

As we rejoice in the happy ending for the three women and their families and friends, we need to be reminded that there is still much work to be done in the world of the missing.

We need to remember that there are thousands of people who are still seeking resolution and waiting for answers concerning their loved one. As a community, we need to come together, take notice and become aware of what happens in our homes, neighborhoods, towns and cities. And we need to always remember that "every missing person is somebody's child."